Thomas Tuchel Talks Tough after FA Cup final defeat

 Thomas Tuchel admits winning the FA Cup wasn't set as a priority by Chelsea when he replaced Frank Lampard in January. A top-four finish in the Premier League and Champions League football for next season was the desire of the club.

The German arrived at Stamford Bridge with the Blues ninth in the Premier League and in poor form. He oversaw a rapid transformation, one which enabled Chelsea to rapidly climb up the top-flight table and progress into the latter stages of both the Champions League and FA Cup.

The Blues booked their place in the finals of the two cup competitions last month, defeating Real Madrid and Manchester City in the respective semi-finals. They also put themselves in control of the top-four race with important victories over West Ham United and Fulham.

However, defeat against Arsenal last Wednesday put the pressure back on Chelsea in the Premier League. And the Blues then suffered a disappointing 1-0 loss to Leicester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday.

The two sides will meet again in league action. It is a vital game for both. Leicester currently sits third in the top-flight table on 66 points. Chelsea is just a place and two points behind the Foxes.

It's not quite a winner-takes-all fixture but whichever side comes out on top at Stamford Bridge tomorrow is likely to be in the Champions League positions when the campaign wraps on Sunday.

We lost a big match, it was a huge match for us, we put out the best team possible, we did not rest anybody because we had the feeling that this game tomorrow is more important.

"But there is a but. Do we want to play Champions League next season? Yes, this is the target when I stepped into this club. I want to be very clear, the task was, ‘let’s try everything to be in the top four. The task was not, ‘let’s try everything to win the FA Cup’ because the FA Cup, as big as it is, does not bring you to Champions League football next season. It’s the top four that brings us that.

Qualifying for Europe's most illustrious club competition would be worth around £60million to Chelsea. It would also give the Blues an important bargaining chip when it comes to completing deals in this summer's transfer window.

And that's why Tuchel was charged with guiding the Blues into the top four rather than winning the FA Cup.

"I am not a good loser but I want to be a respectful loser and I am not here to play the match [the FA Cup final] down because of financial reasons," he said.